Slipping the Past

by D. L. Jackson

  “Yeah. I still don’t think she’s going to like this.”

  “Take her away by force if you have to. Just get her away from here. If they come, I don’t want her in their path. Protect her. I’m trusting you with my sister; don’t know why, but I am. Hurt her, and I’ll hurt you. I’ll meet you in the city at the commuter station in three days.”

  Gabriel nodded and walked out the door. He stopped and poked his head into an open office when he caught sight of a compact holo-processor. Gabriel snagged it and tucked it inside his coat.

  “You better follow through on your end of the deal, kid. I’d get at least two centuries for this.” When he went back into Nate’s room, he noticed they’d already taken him to surgery. He scanned the hall, opened the storage locker, and tucked the stolen holo-processor between Nate’s personal effects. He reached into his pocket and dropped a com on top. Some connection was better than no connection at all. Nobody ever called him on it, anyway.

  ***

  Diego stared at the file, carefully arranging the pieces of the puzzle. Women with red hair had been found all over the city. Dead. No cause of death was determined, but the DSLE suspected foul play and had bounced the case into his hands.

  Investigations were his specialty and Diego couldn’t help seeing the parallels to Gabriel’s situation and the reader, Ian Saefa. Funny thing, he wouldn’t have thought of looking at an Enforcer if Gabriel hadn’t broken the gag order and given him the chip.

  He threw his feet up on his desk and rubbed his jaw. Jocelyn Miller had red hair. Saefa was the principal reader responsible for her warrant and the Enforcer who’d served her warrant on her eighteenth birthday. She’d gotten away. Saefa got a trip to the hospital. After that, torch-tops started coming up missing all over the city.

  What if? God, he didn’t want to answer that. Had the organization he’d served his entire life been wrong? Could he have been responsible for the containment of innocent souls? The more he thought about it, the more he began to wonder if it had ever happened before.

  One thing was certain. Ian Saefa was a killer. Now he had only to prove it. Diego hit a button and pulled up Nate Miller’s file. If Ian targeted redheaded women, why was he after the kid? The knock on his head? It seemed too simple? His gut told him there was more to it than that. He’d shoved the kid off a building without bothering with his soul.

  That involved very deep, very personal, feelings. The ugliest murders were always personal. He dropped his feet and sent a message to Gabriel’s com.

  Nate Miller knows something damning about Ian Saefa.

  ***

  Gabriel climbed into the passenger side and shut the door. “Drive.”

  “Is he going to be okay?”

  “They’ll release him in four days.”

  “We don’t have four days. The courts will be reviewing my case in three.”

  “Yes.”

  “What happens if we don’t make the deadline?”

  “The courts will hear your case, with or without you. If you don’t show, they’ll pass judgment on the evidence they hold, which we already know is questionable. We have to be there.” Gabriel grabbed her hand.

  “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “What makes you think I’m not telling you something?”

  “Ian isn’t the only person who can read voices. From the tone, I hear cover-up.”

  “We’re not waiting four days for him to heal. He’s staying, we’re going. Put this in gear.”

  “I told you I’m not leaving my brother. You can forget it.” Jocelyn crossed her arms over chest.

  “Jo, I know this bothers you, but we don’t have a choice. If we don’t prove your innocence, we are all done. He’ll be okay. I promise.”

  “I’m not going anywhere without him.”

  “Either you drive this craft, or I will. Any way we do this, you’re leaving.”

  “If I refuse?”

  “You don’t want to do that.”

  “Try and stop me.” Jocelyn threw the driver’s door open and jumped out. She ran about ten feet before she slammed into Gabriel’s chest. “Get out of my way.” She tipped her head back and gave him her nastiest look. Hands clamped around her waist and hefted her off her feet. He threw her over his shoulder and walked to the back of the vehicle, pressing his palm against the lock to pop the vehicle open. With a grunt, he tossed her in and slammed the door. He grabbed the latch. Sparks danced from the point of contact. Jocelyn leaned forward and yanked on the interior release. Welded shut.

  “Let me out, ape-man.”

  Gabriel shook his head and teleported, reappearing in the driver’s seat. “Buckle up.”

  “Kiss my ass.”

  “Later.” He turned and looked over his shoulder. “I’ve never driven one of these before, so I suggest you buckle up.”

  Jocelyn glared. “Not in your finest hour.”

  “Kissing your ass, or buckling up?”

  “I’m not doing anything you tell me. I have a mind of my own and I don’t answer to anyone. Just because we’ve—well, you know—doesn’t mean you own me and can tell me what to do.”

  “We’ve what, Jocelyn? Can’t say it?” He studied her. “We made love and we’ll do it again. That has nothing to do with this now.”

  “We’ll do it again?” Jocelyn snorted. “Not happening.”

  “We were meant to be together. You can’t deny it and you can’t stop destiny. You feel the pull and the need as strong as I do.”

  Jocelyn snorted. “Don’t count on it.”

  “I’ve loved you from the moment I first kissed you.”

  Jocelyn opened her mouth to say something nasty and snapped it shut. She reached up and touched his shoulder. “You loved me since you kissed me outside the convenience store?”

  “No. I’ve loved you since I kissed you in the street, while soldiers marched by. I loved you as a Roman soldier, as a knight, as a farmer in Salem, a Confederate man fleeing across enemy lines and, yes, I love you now as the man sworn to take you in. I’ve loved you from the beginning and I’ll love you to the very end. As I said before, having sex has nothing to do with this. Don’t challenge me, Jocelyn. You won’t win when I’m trying to protect you.”

  “That’s playing dirty.”

  “I don’t have time to play fair.”

  Jocelyn buckled her safety restraint. “All right. If anything happens to my brother, I’m kicking your ass.”

  “You can make it a family event.”

  Jocelyn smiled. “Bite me, caveman.”

  “Love to.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Oh, this was going to be good. Jocelyn hopped into Gabriel’s head to get a front-row view to the show, wondering how long it would take before he begged for mercy and turned the driving over to her.

  “Ignition.” Gabriel searched the dash, pushing buttons, flipping switches. The windshield cleaner squirted the glass, running everywhere. The alarm began to screech and an old-time country yodeler’s voice warbled full blast from the speakers.

  He stabbed another button and the horn beeped. The seats began to warm and slide forward, folding him in half and sending his knees to his chest. He flipped more buttons, moving the mirrors, opening the sunroof and letting the snow float in. The trunk popped open and emergency lights began to flash. “Crap.”

  Jocelyn fought the smile that tugged at her lips.

  “Where’s the ignition and how do I move this seat back?”

  “Why don’t you use your magic fingers and zap it?”

  “How do I fix this?”

  “Don’t ask me, I’m blind.”

  “You’re not blind. You see differently.” Gabriel growled under his breath and put his hands on the steering wheel. “Vehicle activated,” a voice chimed out and the ATT started, along with the seat massager, which began to beat against his back.

  “So you finally agree.”

  “Damn!” Gabriel barked and tried to move his knees off the dash. For a man who
was close to six feet six, he was remarkably flexible.

  Jocelyn bit her lip to keep from laughing. “Why don’t you ask nicely?”

  “Why don’t you show me the switch to fix this?” Gabriel felt along the dash for more buttons and twisted to stare at a small red one.

  “I wouldn’t push that.”

  His finger stopped shy of connecting. “Why?”

  “Moves the seat up.”

  “Idiotic primitive piece of crap. Teleporting is so much easier.”

  “Then why don’t we travel your way? You did it with Nate.”

  “I don’t think I could do it again if I wanted to.”

  “So why don’t you teleport yourself out of that predicament, and I’ll drive.”

  “I can drive this thing,” he snarled.

  “Have it your way.”

  Gabriel twisted to look at her. “Would you please fix this?”

  “Adjust driver’s seat to the rear.”

  The seat began to move back and he drew in a deep breath, dropping his feet to the floor and sitting back. “That’s it? You tell it to move and it moves?”

  “That’s it.”

  “Thank you. Now what?”

  “You let me drive and we’ll get somewhere tonight.”

  “Do you have any idea what that’s going to do to my pride?”

  “You’ll survive.”

  ***

  “Okay, that’s four double cheeseburgers, three large fries, an apple pie, two vanilla shakes, three chicken tenders with honey to dip, and a large diet soda,” the voice crackled back.

  “That should do it for me. What do you want Jocelyn?” Gabriel sat back and stretched his legs out. Jocelyn stared at him, or at least that’s what he assumed she was doing behind the black glasses.

  “For a blind girl, you sure know how to give some looks.”

  “I’m not blind.” Jocelyn adjusted the glasses sitting on her face and turned to the speaker. “Could I get a small veggie salad, light dressing, and water?”

  “Aren’t you hungry?”

  She paused. “Could you look at the screen again?” Gabriel fixed his eyes on the menu. “And a large ice cream sundae with extra hot fudge sauce.”

  “Extra hot fudge. Wow. You’re really doing it up big.”

  She smiled. “I could never have that living on the streets. Most of my meals came from the rubbish.”

  “I could never eat all that green stuff.”

  “When you’ve gone days without eating and you have the chance to eat something fresh and green, you jump on it. I’ve had more junk food out of Dumpsters than I care to admit. I don’t much have a taste for fast food. The scraps from the trendier restaurants are healthier, but they’re harder to obtain. They like to lock the trash receptacles.” Jocelyn snorted. “Imagine that, locking up your garbage so someone starving can’t eat it.”

  Gabriel reached out and seized her hand. “I swear you’ll never have to dig through the trash again.”

  “It’s not that bad. Survival. It’s better than death.” Jocelyn viewed a sign ahead through Gabriel’s vision. Static fuzzed across her vision. She pulled over, put the vehicle in Park, and pressed a palm to her forehead. “I think we’re close.”

  “Ride! Put your heels to her. They’re not far behind us!” Lucas shouted.

  Josette leaned forward, urging the mare to go faster. The dull thud of the horse’s hooves churned up clods. Behind them came a rumble of thunder that wasn’t a storm.

  “Leave me. She’s too slow. They’ll kill you.”

  Lucas came up alongside on her husband’s stallion, restraining the frightened creature from bolting. He held her gaze for what seemed like forever. “Whatever happens, I won’t leave you. I would rather die.”

  “The crossroads. It’s not much farther to Union lines.”

  Lucas glanced over his shoulder. “They’re almost on us.”

  Gabriel nodded at the sign. “It’s up to you.”

  Jocelyn stared at the intersection, knowing once she went forward, she couldn’t go back. The past would open up to her and she wasn’t certain she could handle what she’d see. Her death. Gabriel’s death.

  “We’ll go into town, dig up some of the local history on the place to support the evidence, and I can call Nate from the room, check in on him.”

  “You two are really close.”

  “I raised him. My mother was bipolar. She was a good mother, loved us a lot, but couldn’t handle raising us alone, without support. My father took off when I was born. Came back long enough to make Nate and leave my mother with a pile of financial woes. When she got sick, I had to grow up fast.”

  “Did you ever wonder if maybe she didn’t have bipolar disorder but she really was a gifted psychic like yourself?” Gabriel shifted in his seat, turning toward her. “The ability comes from somewhere and is often confused with mental illness.”

  “She took her own life. That’s not a gift.”

  Gabriel froze.

  “When I turned eighteen and was of legal age for prosecution, the warrant came to the door. She couldn’t handle the thought of them taking me, so she packed up Nate and me, told us to run. That night I met Ian. He stepped out in front of the transporter I was driving. I swerved to avoid him and hit a barrier on the interstate. I barely got out of the wreck and he was on me. If it wasn’t for a freighter clipping him and dragging him away, I wouldn’t be here. That brand he wears is to cover up the scar from that night. He had a nasty case of road rash and I don’t think he’s ever forgotten how he got it.”

  “Were you hurt?”

  “I took a hit to the head, but I didn’t dare go to the hospital after what happened to Ian. I slipped the past for the first time that night. I saw my mother’s death and thought perhaps it was a nightmare brought on by the stress or the injury to my head. It wasn’t until later I discovered from an old family friend my mother had taken an overdose of prescription medicine and died three hours before the accident. So, no, I don’t think she had the same abilities I have. I’m not sure that mine didn’t come from the injury to my head.”

  “Don’t be so certain. Often it manifests itself as mental illness and not always from childhood. Look at Saefa. He’d be diagnosed as a schizophrenic. He hears voices in his head.”

  “Ian is crazy. My mother was sick. There’s a difference.”

  “I think when we’re done here, maybe we should look into your family medical history a bit more.”

  “Where are you going with this?”

  “What if the reason Josephine Laurette Smith was accused of being a witch was because she was gifted and somebody saw her abilities manifesting in an unexplainable way? To a Puritan three hundred years ago, it would be witchcraft.”

  Jocelyn put the vehicle in gear and took the right turn on the road leading to a small town. “There was also food poisoning caused by mold in rye bread the people were eating. It caused hallucinations and hysteria.”

  “Stop trying to explain it away. You have a gift. Chances are it has transferred down through the generations, from mother to daughter. Have any of the sons had abilities?”

  “No.”

  “Mental illness?”

  “No.”

  “I don’t think you’re the only one who had a gift transferred down.”

  Jocelyn shifted. “I don’t follow.”

  “I saw Saefa in the Puritan vision. He’s the one Liberty Dover accused of murdering her family.”

  Jocelyn slammed on the brakes, and turned to Gabriel. “You’re telling me this now?”

  “I didn’t want to voice my concerns too early. I needed to know what we were dealing with.”

  “I can’t believe you kept that from me. When were you planning on telling me? He translated my past crimes to my current file and presented the DSLE with the evidence for my warrant. He could have covered up anything from the past he was involved in.” She sucked in a breath and sat back. “So, he is aware of every crime, where we’re going, and what we�
��re looking for.”

  “Yes. It’s why I needed to get you away from Nate. He should be safe in the hospital. Ian might show up at any of these past-life crime scenes and who knows what he’ll do to your brother. He doesn’t want his soul.”

  “How can you be certain?”

  “He shoved him off the building. He wasn’t there to collect his soul; he wanted him dead. I haven’t figured out why yet. I also think he wanted my soul. He waited for me when he took Nate up to the roof. He could have killed him before I got there, but didn’t. He’s got some kind of grudge. I just don’t know why.”

  Jocelyn shifted the transporter into a higher gear and punched the accelerator. “I need to call him.”

  ***

  “I’ll have the steak tartare, a Caesar salad with extra Caesar, a bottle of your vintage wine, and do you have the dessert menu?”

  The busty nurse dropped a plastic container with red Jell-O on the tray in front of Nate. “You think you’re a comedian?”

  “Admit it, that was pretty funny.” Nate crossed his arms and smiled at the nurse, who snorted and grabbed his wrist to check his heart rate. He shouldn’t be antagonizing her, but damn, he loved her British accent and she was pretty hot.

  “Take a deep breath.” She listened to his chest and nodded. Her breasts pushed against him and Nate snuggled closer, sighing.

  The nurse growled and stepped back.

  “Could you smile or something? I thought you nurses were angels of mercy.”

  “You’re lucky I’m a nurse. I used to sell cyanide. Eat your Jell-O, drink your water, and swallow this pill or I’ll give it to you as a suppository.”

  Cyanide? Suppository? Nate snatched the small cup with the pill from the nurse and popped the medication in his mouth, washing it down with the water. “You meant the pill. Right? That could be really kinky, getting Jell-O as a suppository.”

  The nurse shot him a drop-dead look, spun on her heel, and hit the lights as she left.